Under the auspice of the incoming Norwegian EUREKA Chairmanship and the EUREKA Secretariat, the[Even] Higher, Faster and Stronger – Eurostars, a vision for Europe’s most innovative SMEsevent will debate on the political, industrial and technical dimensions of the future Eurostars Programme. Participants will have the opportunity to listen and to interact with experts on the Eurostars Programme and European support for SMEs that perform R&D.

Following the success of the original Eurostars Programme, its successor Eurostars 2, is the only European funding programme specifically dedicated to R&D-intensive SMEs, with the strong participation of 33 EUREKA member countries. It is also supported by the European Commission as part of Horizon 2020, as shown in its recent roadmap for the continuation of the Eurostars Programme. The success of the programme has also built on EUREKA’s intrinsic strength in the sector - making a real contribution to the integration in national programmes of instruments for R&D SMEs and giving this important business sector a concrete role in the European Research Area. As success stories such as Makin’It and I-STAR demonstrate, Eurostars has helped young companies, previously considered as a ‘high-risk option’ by investors, to be attractive to private investors.

Leading policy makers, industry representatives and successful entrepreneurs will discuss how the next phase of Eurostars will complement existing EU initiatives, intended to support SMEs conducting research. Please see below a draft agenda:

Raising the productivity and competitiveness of European businesses through technology. Boosting national economies on the international market, and strengthening the basis for sustainable prosperity and employment.